I've had similar experiences lately. Used AAA for years without issue, but recently had to wait almost two hours when my battery died at the grocery store parking lot. It wasn't even a holiday or anything—just a random weekday afternoon. Ended up chatting with a guy parked next to me who mentioned he dropped AAA and switched to roadside coverage through his insurance company. Said he'd never waited more than 45 minutes.
That got me thinking, so I checked my own car insurance and found out I already had roadside assistance included (had no idea til then, lol). Figured I'd give it a shot next time something happened. Sure enough, couple months later got a flat tire on the highway, called them up, and someone was there within 35 mins. Can't complain about that.
AAA's discounts were always nice, but if their service keeps slipping...might be worth reconsidering what we're paying for. I'm still skeptical about fully ditching them because they've been around forever, but definitely keeping an open mind now.
"AAA's discounts were always nice, but if their service keeps slipping...might be worth reconsidering what we're paying for."
Yeah, I get where you're coming from, but honestly, roadside assistance through insurance can be hit or miss too. Had a client recently who switched away from AAA to their insurance's roadside coverage—worked great at first, then they had a breakdown out in the sticks and waited nearly three hours. Sometimes it's less about the company and more about your location and timing. Worth keeping in mind before making the jump completely.
I've noticed similar things happening more lately. Had AAA for years and they've genuinely helped me out a few times—flat tire on the freeway, dead battery in a parking lot—but last year I had an experience that made me rethink things a bit.
I was driving back from visiting family out of state and got stranded in a pretty rural area. Called AAA expecting the usual decent response time, but ended up waiting nearly two hours before anyone showed up. The guy who arrived was friendly enough, but he admitted they were understaffed and stretched thin, especially in less populated areas. He basically told me it wasn't unusual these days.
After that, I started looking into roadside through my auto insurance, but like you mentioned, I've heard mixed reviews there too. Seems like it really depends on your luck—where you break down, what time it is, how busy they are at that moment. I'm skeptical there's any service that's always reliable anymore.
Makes me wonder if maybe it's better to have both? Or is that just throwing money away? Curious if anyone here has tried doubling up and if it actually helped when things went sideways...
I've been wondering the same thing lately. I'm pretty new to the whole insurance thing and just got AAA last year after my dad insisted it was a lifesaver. Haven't had to use it yet (thankfully), but hearing your story makes me a bit nervous, haha. Maybe it's smart to have both AAA and regular insurance roadside coverage just in case? Or is that overkill...
"Maybe it's smart to have both AAA and regular insurance roadside coverage just in case? Or is that overkill..."
Honestly, I used to think having both was total overkill until my car broke down on a road trip last summer. I had AAA, which I'd always trusted, but they took forever to show up—like almost two hours. Thankfully, a friend traveling with us had roadside coverage through her regular insurance and called them after about an hour of waiting. They arrived within 30 minutes and got us moving again pretty quickly.
Now I'm kinda skeptical about relying solely on AAA. Maybe it was just a one-off bad experience, but it definitely made me reconsider putting all my eggs in one basket. Has anyone else noticed AAA response times getting slower lately, or was my experience just bad luck?
